Deflector for plate-feeding mechanisms



Feb. 5 1924.

E. C. POOL DEFLECTOR FOR PLATE FEEDING MECHANISMS Fi l ed De C l 5 l 9225 SheetS-Shee 1', 1

E. C. POOL DEFLEGTOR FOR PLATE FEEDING MECHANISMS Feb. 5 1924.

Filed Dec. l5, 1,922 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 W'zesses:

Feb. 5 1924. 1,483,059

E. c. Pool.

- DEFLECTOR FOR PLATE FEEDIG. MECHANISMS Filed Dec. 15l 1922 5Sheets-Shea?l 5 Feria. 5 1924.

E.C.POOL

DEFLECTOR FOR PLATE FEEDING MECHANISMS Filed Deo. l5, 1922 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Invenior: .f2/75 Cf POOL E. C. POOL DEFLECTOR FOR PLATEFEEDING MECHANISMS Filed Dec. 15. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Ryu IIIIIIIIIPatented Feb. 5, 1924.

UNITED STATES ELMER C. POOL, 0F NEW CASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEELETR .FR PLATE-FEEDING MECHANISMS.

Application led December l5, 19,22. Serial No. 607,122.

To all whom it may cmwern.

Be it known that I, Eterna C. POOL, a citizen of the United States, andresident of New Castle, in the county of Lawrence and StatePennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDellectors for Plate-Feeding Mechanisms, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to the manipulation vof metal sheets and plates,and more particularly to the feeding of such sheets or plates,automatically, one at a time, from a pile to a tinning machine, and hasfor one of its objects the provision of an improved feedin mechanismsuch as that described in my I nite-d States Patent No. 1,448,711, datedMarch 13, 1923, having means for positively preventing more than oneplate entering the tinning machine.

In automatically feeding metal plates by magnetic feeding devices orotherwise, two or more plates are often carried upward by the feedingdevice, and when these plates enter the tinning machine they are notproperly tinned. and must be. scrapped. `With the present invention,means are provided for preventing more than one plate entering thetinning machine.

Another object of the present invention is to deflect or throw out theplates when a plurality of plates are fed to the tinning machine priorto their entry into the tin bath, thus preventing the scrapping of suchplates since they may be again fed singly through the machine.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of myimproved feeding mechanism applied to a tinning machine. l,

Figure 2 is a top plan of the apparatus of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail side elevation of the rear portion of the device.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional det-ail of the caliperingand switching mechanism.

Figure 5 is a sectional elevation on the line V-V of Figure 4.-.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates a tinning pot, initself an old and approved form. The pot is separated transversely by avertical wall or partition 2, into compartments B and C. The lower edgeof this partition or septum Q. which terminates above the bottom of thetinning pot, and the upper edge of a rib or proj ection 3 on the bottomof the pot defines the width or vertical dimension of a narrow passageor opening D, through which the plates, while submerged in the bath ofmolten tin, pass from the compartment B 1nto the compartment C of thepot A. The particular pot shown is of a width which permits of two ormore plates, side by side, being passed through the tinning pot.

Located immediately above the upper edge of the compartment ,at theplate entering side of the tinning pot, are two sets of feed rollers Eand- F, which are arranged to receive the plates from my improvedfeeding mechanism to be described, and to move them forwardly anddownwardly into the tin pot at an angle to the horizontal.

The feed rollers F are at a somewhat lower level than the rollers E, andan adjustable roller G is located on the discharge side of the set F toguide and direct the front end ofthe successive plates forwardly anddownwardly and into the molten tin in compartment B, as they emerge frombetween the rollers F.

Positioned within the compartment B, closely adjacent to the passage D,is a set of pressure rollers I. These pressure rollers feed the platesfrom compartment B into the compartment C.

Two sets of feed-out rollers J and K are provided in the compartment Cof pot A to feed-out the plates and also to squeeze off surplus tin fromthe plates.

An inclined apron plate 10 is provided at the entrance end of thecompartment B of the pot to receive the plates as they are deliveredfrom my improved feeding mechanism. Other guide plates, 12 and 13, arearranged to guide the plates through the rollers F and I, and curvedguide plates '14 and 14! form a guide N which directs the forward end ofthe plates emerging from the set of pressure rollers I upwardly into thebite of the lower set J of the feed-out rollers J and K.

My improved feeding mechanism is adapted to be located directly at therear of the tinning pot and comprises a double set of parts arrangedside by side so as to act on two piles of plates at one time, therebyfeeding two plates, side by side, into the tinning machine.

A framework or supporting structure 16 is secured to and extendsrearwardly from the tinning pot A and supports'the several partscomprising my feeding mechanism.v

A bosh or receptacle 17 is secured to and eX- angle, so as to slidablysupport an L-shaped plate retainer 20 which is of sufficient width tohold two piles of plates side by side. The plate retainer 2O isadjustably held in position and adapted to be vertically adjusted bymeans of a pair of chains 21. one. of which is secured on each endthereof and passed upwardly over suitable sheaves 22 splined on a shaft23 journaled 1n the bosh and having a ratchet and dog operatmg mechanism24 on its one end outside of the end wall of the bosh.

Mounted on the rear edge of the supporting framework 16 at each end andcenter thereof is a bracket 25 supporting a shaft 26, having four arms27 loosely mounted thereon for pivotal movement.

The arms 27 have a plurality of cylindrical magentic plate lifters Yjournaled and supported in their lower ends, and the center arms havetheir upper ends counterweighted by adjustable counterweights 29 mountedon a projecting arm 30. A locking lever 31 is pivoted on vthe arms 27,having the counterweights adjacent their upper ends, and such lever isprovided with a notch 32 to engage over the projecting tongue 33 on theframe 16 so as to hold the magnetic plate lifters Y out of their plateengaging position when dseired.

The magnetic plate lifters Y each comprises a permanent magnetic member34 mounted within a pair of hollow cylindrical casings 35 which havetheir inner ends spaced apart and joined by a non-magnetic hollowcylindrical tubular member 36. Stub shafts 37 are threaded into theouter ends of the casings 35 and support the whole structure in suitablebearings formed in the lower ends of the arms 27.

The hollow cylindrical casing members 35 are formed from soft iron orother material which will readily convey the circuit. or attractingforces from the permanent magnet 34, thus forming unlike poles throughwhich a circuit will be completed when they contact with a plate.

The outer surface or periphery of the members 35 is fiuted, forming aseries of knife edge ribs or projections 39. It will thus be seen thateach of the ribs or pro jections 39 will successively engage a plate asthe magnet is rotated, and that projections on the alined casings willform op- `posite or unlike pole contacts, and that such projections willcontact with the face of the outermost plate of the pile in the retainer20. The effect of the knife edge contacts will be to concentrate theforces of the magnet in the immediate plate and prevent the spreading ofthe forces through and into the next adjoining plates.

Suitable cross-beams 40-40 are arranged from one end of the framesupport 16 to the other immediately above the upper edge of the bosh andcarry suitable curved guide strips 41-42 arranged to form an upwardlyand inwardly inclined passageway to guide the plates being conveyed.

A second pair of cross-beams 43-43 are arranged forward and above thecross-beams 40 and carry other guide strips 44-45 forming a secondpassage-way adapted to receive the plates from the passage-way betweenthe strips 41 42 and direct them forwardly and upwardly between suitablepinch rollers 46 and 47 of any well-known construction.

The lower one of the pair of pinch rollers E is driven by a suitablesource of power and carries a sprocket 48 on each end. Pinch roller 46also carries a sprocket 48 on each end in line with the sprocket 48, anda third sprocket 48b is mounted on each end of the shaft 26 in line withthe sprockets 48 and 48a. A link chain 49 is trained about the sprockets48, 482148", thus driving the pinch rollers E, pinch rollers 46 and 47,and shaft 26 at the same speed. lt will be undei-stood that if founddesirable in practice, one set of drive sprockets may be used on the oneside of the machine.

A pair of sprockets 5() of somewhat smaller diameter than the sprockets48, 48a, 48"` are mounted on the ends of the shaft 26, and a sprocket51, of greater diameter than sprockets 50, is mounted on the end of theoutside stub shafts 37 of each magnetic conveyer, and a link chain 52 istrained over the sprockets 50 and 51 to constantly drive the conveyermembers, which will neces sarily revolve 4at a lesser speed than thepinch rollers E and pinch rollers 46, 47, due to the difference in sizeof the sprockets 50 and 51.

Magnetic separators X are mounted above each of the magnetic platelfters Y and comprise a rectangular casing member 63 hingedly orpivotally supported on the crossbeam 40. The casings 63 contain apermanent magnet 64 and are provided with blade or knife edge poles 65which extend into the path of the lifted plates and contact with therear faces thereof. The magnet 64 is of less strength than the magnetsof the plate lifter Y, and, therefore, will not materially retard themovement of the plates, yet it is of sufficient strength that if twoplates should stick or in some manner be lifted together, it will retardthe movement of the second plate, and thus separate them.

A further means for preventing the feed` y such size that their datsides `will extend past the guide strips and into the path ofthe liftedplates. As the plates are guided between the strips 44 and 45, they willbear against the upper strips 44 due to the; div-'py rection of theirtravel, and in this position they will strike the fingers 68 andcausethes shaft and fingers yto rotateone-third of a revolution, therebypresen-ting one of' .the

other faces of the fingers against the plate. If a second plate isoverlapped onfthefirst in such a manner thatV its forward edge 1sdisposed to the rearv of the forward edge ofr the first plate, it willstrike the fingers and e be held, since the fingers cannot again rotateykuntil the first plate has passed clear `:from

under the fingers. Another feature and function of :these fingers isthat they will causevan even feed of the plates from both of themagnetic vfeed rollers Y, since if on-e roller feeds a platein advanceof the other, the first to reach or strike the fingers 68 will rotatethem the one.- third turn, and then lock them against rotation until ithas passed from thereunder, and the plate that is in the rear will beheld'until the fingers are again freed when another plate will bepresented by the other magnetic feed roller to followthe'one justclearing the fingers, thus causing the newly presented plate, and theheld plate to pass together to the rollers' 46-47.

A still further means for preventing the feeding of double sheets to thetinning pot is located forward of the fingers G8 and this means acts asa trap so that if more than one. plate passes therethrough they will betrapped and thrown out so they may be salvaged and again fed through themachine.-

This mechanism, which is in the form of,

a calipering mechanism, comprises a pair of supporting angle members54-542 The lower member 54 is provided with a pad 55 forming the bottomcaliper-ing surface. The

upper member 54n has an inverted U-shaped supporting bracket member 5Gsecured to its upper face which serves to form a supporting bearmg for acahpering bolt 57.

An inverted Ushaped supporting memberk 60 is screw threaded on the lowerend of the bolt 57 and locked in position by a nut 57a. A spring` 58 ismounted around the bolt 5T and has one end bearing against the nut 5Tand its other end bearing against the under face of the bracket. member56. The spring 58 serves to yieldably hold the bolt 57 and member 60 intheir lowermostposition. The

lowermost position of the bolt 5T may be ad-` justed by an adjusting nut59 which is mounted on the finely threaded upper portion of the bolt 57,which projects through the bracket 56. Thenut 59 bears against the upperface of the bracket 56 and when V.screwed down on the bolt 57 will raisethe bolt and whenjscre'wediup on the boltwill allow the `bolt to drotherebyfvarying the space between the pa' 55 and the caliperingmechanismlcarried' by 'thebolty A suitable handle 59lrk is `securedto.the nut 59 so that it may be readily turned.`

` `A pair of sheet,v uiles thek outer` sidefa'cesfofr` the vmember(S0-to guide the plates from"^the rolls 46-4T between the caliperingmechanism. i

.A1- Vsubstantially VV-shaped plate -guide switch member-"8T has itsoney leg secured to a kcross men'iber so that'its closed end `or nose8Ta projects toward 'and intoclose proximity tothe calipering membersand its other legfforms a sheet deflectingpo'rtion.

.A calipering camp (il is mounted on a' pin 88 mounted in the member 60.The camfl provided with" an extended lever or trap portion 6l whichextends ,over and normally Arests upon thel upper `leg of -the guideS?.

The lowenfacefof' the'lever 6l adjacent the cam portion 61' is projecteddownwardly to form ak guide lip 61b which normally projects slightlybelow thenose portion 87a of the plate guide 87.

A pair of'jpinchrollers 89-90 are provided forwardof the plate guide.which' are adapted to receive' the plates defiectedby the guide and feedthem onto a platform or inoperation th'e' boltfllj'is adjustedvertically until the. camlfis spaced sufficiently above .the padlftopermitv a single plate to pass therebetween. During the normal operationof the machine" the plates are yfed singly into thetinning; pot. lf,however,

for any reason two. or,y more platesr should `stick and be fied .betweenthe ycam (Si and pad 55 the cam Glwill be forced upward and rockedslightly/'Kupon' the pin 8S, and the two `or more platesfwhich willlengage thefle'ver portion Gll ofthefcalm:w-ilkha've sufficientresiliency to lift rthecarnglever G1 to a point above the nose'Si'vnfof4 the plate guide '87,

therebyT permitting:theplates to bedefiected above the guide Si' andinto the bite of the pinch rollers ,Sile-90, which will feed'them j ontothe platform 9i., `When onlj7 a single plate is fed between the pad 55and-cambi, the cam remains' stationaryv vandthe plate is guideddownwardlyv` bythe guide lip 61.* until it strikestlie lower leg ofthejguide 87. The weight of the ylever portion Glof the cam 6l is suchthatafsingle plate will not disturb it. i ,A j

it will be,r of vcours j, understood that 'the abovecaliper-ingandftrapping mechanism is duplicated for cach firming pot.v,'fhatis, cach set- .of feedingmcchanism has its own 60 aresecured to lealipering and trapping mechanism. There-i As the plate lifters Yarerotated to feed 'y the plates from the pile or pack, it becomesvnecessary to renew the pack from time lto time and in order to do ,sowithout interfering with the operation of the machine, l

have provided a pack shifting or handling mechanism which comprises fapairof U- shaped yoke members having their side arms pivotally mountedas at 71 to the lower ends of levers 72, which have theirl other endskeyed or otherwise ,securedv to operating shafts 73 which have theirouter ends journaled in rack' plates74 and their inner ends journaled ina lsim'gle'bracket 75 which bracket is secured to the forward wall ofthe bosh 17 by bolts 76 or the like.

Eachof the operating shafts 73 extends beyond the rack plates 74-whichare bolted to and extend upwardly from the end walls of the bosh 17.

A suitable operating lever 78 is secured to the outer end of each of theshafts 73 and is provided with a hand grip 79 for the operator to grasp.

The side arms of the U-shaped yoke members 70 normally rest` upon andride across the shoulders or vbearing bosses 27, on .the

vlower ends of arms 27, in which the stub shafts 37 of plate litters 'Yare journaled.

It Awill be readily apparent that when the operator grasps the lever 78and rocks it in a forward direction vit will so rotate the shaft as tomove the yoke` 7() rearwardly. As the yoke is moved rearwardly theoperator will either grasp the yoke itself and manually lift it upwardlyto clear the pack of `plates being,r fed into the machine and then letit drop behind said pack, or he mill grasp the flexible cable or chain 77 which has its one'end secured to thc one side bar of the yoke and itsother cnd secured to the shaft QG,A and thus litt the yoke. t i' Inorder to lhold the yoke in various adjustable positions, a springypressed pawl 8() having operating handle or drop 81 is mounted on thelever 78 and is adapted to be engaged \in the upper serrated or toothededge 81 of rack plate 74. f

lVhen the operator desires to renew the pack of plates he will move theyoke for thatlpack rearwardly and lift it over the pack as describedabove. He will then move or rock the lever 78 rearwardly so as ioL movethe yoke forwardly, which will pull the remaining plates of the packwith it, and when the pack has been moved forward to the desiredposition, he will release the pawl 80 land lock the yoke in position. Hemay then renew the pack by adding plates to the rear of the originalpack. When struction of magnetic plate lift will cause the magneticforces to be concentrated on a single plateof the pile and will lift itthrough the guide passages to the pinch rollers 46;-47, which will inturn feed it to the pinch rollers E of the. tinning pot.

The operations of the three separate mechanisms for preventing more thanone plate being carried to the tinning pot, have also been fullydescribed above, and will not begone into again, although thesemechanisms are important features and are distinct improvements overany. devices hereto- Vr'fore known, the calipering trip and trappingvmechanism being particularly novel and forming the subject matter otthe following claims.

It will be readily understood that while I have described my'invcntionis combination with a tinning pot` it is not limited to such use, butmay be used wherever it is desired to feed single plates, and thereforeI do not wish to be limited to such a combination.

I claim 1. In an automatic plate feeding mechanism, a pair of caliperingmembers, means for feeding plates from a. pack, guide means on one ofsaid calipering members for guiding said plates downwardly when onlysingle plates pass between said calipering mem.- bers, a second plateguide adapted to receive the plates from said {irst named guide 4whensaid tirst named guide is in its normal position. said first named guidebeing raised to form a gap between said first and second named guideswhen more than one plate passes between said calipering members, so thatsaid plurality of plates will be fed over said second guide.

In an automatic plate feeding mechanism, a pair of caliper-ing members,means for feeding plates from a pack, one of said members beingvertically movable relative to the other` means for yieldingly forcingsaid member toward the other of said calipering members, and means foradjusting said vertically movable member so as to vary the distancebetween said calipering members` guide means on said verticallyl movablemember for guiding said plates downwardly when only single plates passbetween said oalipering members, a second plate guide adapted to receivethe plates from said first named guide when said first named guide is inits normal position, said first named guide being raised to form aL gapbetween said first and second named guides when more than one platepasses between said calipering members, so that the plurality of plateswill pass over saidv second named guide.

3. In an automatic plate feeding mechanism, a pair of caliperingmembers, means for feeding plates from a pack. the lower of` saidcalipering members being rigid and the upper of said members beingvertically movable relative to said lower member, said upper memberhaving a. cam shaped plate contacting portion and being adapted to berotated abouta fixed horizontal axis, a counterweighting lever on saidcam shaped member, said cam shaped member being adapted to be rockedabout its fixed axis by the friction of two or more plates passingbetween the caliperin'g` members, means for yieldably forcing said uppermember toward said 25 ly when only single plates pass between saidcalipering members, a second plate guide adapted to receive the platesfrom said first named guide when only single plates pass between saidcalipering members, and said first named guide eing adapted to be movedupwardly to a position above said second named guide when said uppercalipering member is rocked by two or more plates passing between saidcalipering members, thereby forming a gap between said guide membersthrough which said pluralities of plates are adapted to pass.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

\ EIMER C. POOL.

